I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

While attempting to do my early morning walk/jog (more like walk) last week, I was pursued hot on the heels by a pack of undernourished, mangy looking, yapping and some snarling Bali dogs who attempted to fight my two innocent, timid, well-fed and posh looking Bali dogs; I slid a few times on the gravel that was used as a permanent solution to fill some of the crater like pot holes (won't be long before those massive holes start re-appearing); and I received continuous accolades from the stream of passersby on their motorbikes who beeped and used the universal language of jeering as they overtook me. I wasn't sure whether this was in support of my mission of getting fit and at the same time looking great on the road, or that the jeers were in jest, but I decided to go with the former option. I had hoped to be inconspicuous by wearing dark sunglasses and a cap that I pulled down over my face, so I could hardly see anyone, but my pale white skin must have blinded them and stood out, like a flash of lightening in a dark sky!

While carrying on with my mission of getting fit, in spite of my dogs nervously jumping all over the place and nearly tripping me up on several occasions, my IPOD started playing U2's song 'I still haven't found what I'm looking For'. Quite an appropriate song really. While encountering the obstacles of simply going for a walk/jog in the Balinese countryside, I started wondering "Is this really what I'm looking for?"!

The theme of this U2 song continued when I went on a business trip to Singapore. Mid week, I ran a team development session with a CEO and her senior leaders. I ran an activity to discover their values and over half the group were looking for a better work/life balance. Not a huge surprise really when these people are working in the modern world of crackberries, emails and instant communication.  Technology was supposed to make us more efficient. Instead it's allowed us to do even more work, at any time and any place!

The priority of our values can change in order, depending on whether we feel we are obtaining what is important to us and if we compromise our values, we will feel conflict. To find what we are looking for, it's good to know what is important to us.

If we feel that our work/life balance is being compromised, it's best to do something proactive to resolve this conflict. When it comes to work/life balance, I've now learned that for me it's not a case of finishing work at 5pm. I'd rather call it work/life values, so I know what to focus on at the time. When I'm working, I choose to focus on my work and when I'm with my family I choose to be in the moment with them. As Oprah Winfrey says:-

"I've learned that you can't have everything and do everything at the same time."

If I still haven't found what I'm looking for, then I can listen to what the feedback is telling me and do something about it. What can you do so that your values are not in conflict and that you can find what you are looking for?

Janet



Establish your own work-life priorities on our intensive 7 day NLP programme in Bali this Nov 28 - Dec 4 NoLimits NLP 
www.nolimitsasia.com